Always check your gayge....

April 25, 2008

Finished sweater, weekend plans

Another late night. Cooling down outside - rain somewhere off in the distance (like, Iowa distance - not PG County distance). It's cool outside - the air feels very *easy* and I very much like that. Quiet city tonight - on my street anyway. I'm sure folks who live on 17th (Dupont) or 18th (Adams Morgan) are having a different experience.

Another late night, did I mention in my last post I've been having trouble sleeping? It's true. It's not really trouble - it's more like I am not actually going to bed until 1230 or 1, and I'm waking up at 7, and going to work in a good way. This is very unusual for me - usually, if I'm up this late, I'm working (and no one should think I haven't been) and when I wake up, I'm so exhausted that the idea of going to my job job is sickening. But not recently. I mean, I'm not complaining - it's just an odd body thing that's going on right now I guess.

I had an appointment with my bodyworker today. A good friend of mine who lives on the west coast, acknowledging that I've pretty much given up all hope of ever having a social life so that I can pursue my big knit-dreams, told me one of the most important things for the self-employed (even if they're employed elsewhere while they're also self-employed) is to be sure they "pay themselves" before they pay elsewhere. Now, admittedly, I've been tempted to ask clients to write checks directly payable to 'Bank of America' - and thus, haven't really been paying myself - BUT, really, to get him off my back, I opted to go see Reya (my bodyworker) once a month. Now, I think for a very long time, while I was in therapy, I think this is what I really wanted. AND, if I had been going for weekly massages rather than giving Bob a check for a hundred bucks a week, I probably would have been way happier, faster, but I digress. When I go see Reya, it's awesome. The first 20 minutes or so are spent catching up - like old friends... Where have you been, what's been going on, how're you feeling, and so on. This part of our connection is very much like therapy (for us both - I think). Speaking for myself, not having the same kind of connection I've had with friends in college or high school (where life is a constant stream of open-mouthed-self-reflection-with-another), having that space with someone is great and very meaningful. From here, and I think based on that connection, I get bodywork done for an hour or so - this includes accupressure, massage, reiki, and more - it's always a powerful experience for me, and essential time I'm finding. Afterwards, we connect again... How was the experience, what did you learn, how did things change... and so on, and then I'm off and onwards. Today, I felt as relaxed as I think I've ever felt - I left feeling like the best possible way to continue the day would be to find a pool to sit by until twilight (which of course didn't happen - but it was nice that the experience took me to that level).

Post work, I came home and finished my sweater for KNS - the next issue, 157. Without taking pictures of it - I can tell you, I'm pretty freaking thrilled with it. Lately, in design, I've been experimenting a lot with cables - taking repeats and breaking them down, combining them, exploding them, imploding them - in every way. In music, I love when a theme is taken and layered - or re explored in multiple movements or the same piece - and find myself approaching design with that goal in mind. In this one, I gratefully had the chance to work with Kokopelli - a wonderful wool mohair blend from Fiesta in a beautiful oliv-y tone) to create a cabled raglan, with a short v-neck (a design element which just came to me tonight and pretty much is the icing on the cake). It's on the wooly board now, going through a light block - I can't wait to show it when the magazine hits newsstands (mid July / August).

Finishing the sweater leaves a bit of breathing room in my schedule for the weekend - which will be great. I have some tech editing to do for a small client which I've been putting off (note to clients, please, don't ever tell me "do this when you have time" because unless you give me a deadline or we work out a mutually agreeable timeline, I really will wait until I have time - and you might not be pleased), and need to start on articles due in July - and want to cast on for the next sweater (a steeked Fair Isle cardigan - using Harrisville - awesome tweeds!). Moreso, I need to clean - hardcore. I'd take pictures of this mess, but, well, no, I won't. The main issue is organizing stash. Can't wait til it's organized!

Got a couple nice emails asking about the Opal Nera in my last post - Opal Nera is the queen of all anisettes - it's deeply purple, beautifully sweet, and a wonderful taste. I love Sambuca - don't get me wrong, and have a bottle of Sambuca (clear) which I sometimes add to coffee in the morning (my father likes the Sambuca Black for coffee - it's sweeter), but Opal Nera can be drunk in small glasses and is wonderful. If you're an anisette fan, try twisting a bit of lemon rind, pouring some Opal Nera over it, then adding an ice cube. It's a great drink to cool down with after a great meal. Me, I've been angsting for some Campari - never tried it, but in my appreciation for all things Italian, I want to give it a try. I like bitter liqueurs (Chartreuse Vert was an early favorite of mine), but hate the idea of buying a bottle that'll cure under my sink, if I'm not a fan... Campari, after all, isn't on many bars in the US.

Onwards, next post (man, i hate those words - next post - they assume there'll be one), I'll show some spinning - I'm damn near close actually being able to spin sock weight yarn. Can't wait to show some recent results.